Preliminary work begins at Waterbury state complex

Asbestos removal under way

Crews set up Tuesday to start removing asbestos from the Waterbury state office complex. It's the first stage of renovations there.

"Almost every building on this campus has asbestos-containing materials that need to be abated before we can move on to the next step," said Mike Stevens, the special project administrator for Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services.

Crews will first remove asbestos in buildings that will be demolished, then move on to buildings that will be renovated.

"It depends on each area, but it seems to be hidden in the concrete. That's what we're after now," said the asbestos supervisor for Catamount Environmental, Bart Jacobs.

The asbestos wasn't a threat inside the walls, but once demolition starts it could be, so experts have to take it out.

"They'll use a negative air machine to change the air within the decon unit; they go in with a suit and respirator and other personal protective gear and wet the materials down and bag it up and ship it to an approved landfill," said Jacobs.

The final plans for the complex are still in the works but the project supervisor says about 120,000 square feet of historic buildings will be renovated and preserved and another 80,000 square feet will be completely new. There will also be a new central utility plant.

Some of the buildings on the site go back to the 1800s and will be preserved. Those buildings will still require asbestos removal before work begins. The removal work could take several months.

The supervisor of the Waterbury project says finally getting started is a very big step.

"It's an extremely big deal because it's the starting block; it's the first activity that needs to occur before we could rebuild anything or even demolish anything. We need to make sure our workers are safe, and we need to make sure these hazardous materials are out of here to ensure their safety," said Stevens.

The $125 million project will be paid for with insurance, federal and state money.

State officials said Tuesday they expect to reach a final settlement with FEMA and the insurance carrier for the Waterbury complex in the next two or three weeks, which will allow the administration to accelerate construction of the site.

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